Add cemetery photos

Troytown Cemetery

Also known as Rantus Family Cemetery

Queens County, New York, USA – *No GPS coordinates

About

  • 149th Street and Gravett Road

    No GPS information available Add GPS

  • Cemetery ID:

Members have Contributed

Advertisement

Photos

No additional photos.

Add Photos

In 1853, Troy Rantus established a burial ground on the family farm
that was located in a community called "Head of Vleigh," just south of
today's Queens College. The cemetery was actively used by the
descendants of Troy Rantus into the early 20 century, and
was referred to by a number of names including "The Burying Ground of
the Family of Troy Rantus the First," "Troytown Cemetery," and "The
Colored Burying Ground of South Flushing." The last known burial in the
cemetery was in 1911, when James A. Brooks, a 37-year old Queens mail
carrier and son of Sarah Rantus, was interred there.


In 1952, a home building company obtained permission from the Rantus
heirs to remove the bodies from the family cemetery so the company could
have clear title to develop the land. At that time, no gravestones
remained in the 52-by-84-foot plot, which was described as a "a
long-forgotten Negro burial ground" at the southwest corner of 149
street and Gravett Road. The company reportedly removed the human
remains "with care and respect" and transferred them to a plot in the
Terrace Hill section at in Brooklyn. The Mainstay Cooperative Apartments now stand on the former site of the Rantus Family Cemetery.

In 1853, Troy Rantus established a burial ground on the family farm
that was located in a community called "Head of Vleigh," just south of
today's Queens College. The cemetery was actively used by the
descendants of Troy Rantus into the early 20 century, and
was referred to by a number of names including "The Burying Ground of
the Family of Troy Rantus the First," "Troytown Cemetery," and "The
Colored Burying Ground of South Flushing." The last known burial in the
cemetery was in 1911, when James A. Brooks, a 37-year old Queens mail
carrier and son of Sarah Rantus, was interred there.


In 1952, a home building company obtained permission from the Rantus
heirs to remove the bodies from the family cemetery so the company could
have clear title to develop the land. At that time, no gravestones
remained in the 52-by-84-foot plot, which was described as a "a
long-forgotten Negro burial ground" at the southwest corner of 149
street and Gravett Road. The company reportedly removed the human
remains "with care and respect" and transferred them to a plot in the
Terrace Hill section at in Brooklyn. The Mainstay Cooperative Apartments now stand on the former site of the Rantus Family Cemetery.

Nearby cemeteries

Calvary Cemetery

Woodside, Queens County, New York, USA

  • 330k+
  • 69%
  • 13%
0 mi
Saint John Cemetery and Mausoleum

Middle Village, Queens County, New York, USA

  • 270k+
  • 21%
  • 3%
0 mi
Mount Hebron Cemetery

Flushing, Queens County, New York, USA

  • 220k+
  • 23%
  • 5%
0 mi
Mount Zion Cemetery

Maspeth, Queens County, New York, USA

  • 165k+
  • 19%
  • 3%
0 mi
  • Added: 2 Jan 2024
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2793373